Accused driver was distracted by dog, family says

The man accused of starting a chain reaction accident in Warren in which a retired Army colonel was killed was distracted by his dog while driving, the suspect’s relatives said Tuesday.

Shawn Michael Fontyn, 27, drove a 2005 Jeep Grand Cherokee on southbound Van Dyke as it crossed the left turn lane near Old 13 Mile Road on July 17 and collided with a northbound motorcycle driven by Timothy David Lynch of Washington Township, police said.

Lynch, 57, landed in the curb lane of Van Dyke and was hit by a northbound vehicle. The retired colonel, who worked as a contract employee at the Army’s TACOM complex in Warren, died at the scene.

The Jeep driven by Fontyn collided with a 2006 Ford Fusion stopped in the road, then flipped and caught fire.

Police said Fontyn fled the scene on foot. Officers in the Warren Police Department’s Special Operations unit found him hiding a short time later in bushes of a business about one-half mile away.

Fontyn faces charges of driving while license suspended causing death and leaving the scene of a fatal accident. Both offenses are punishable by up to 15 years in prison.

At 37th District Court in Warren on Tuesday, Fontyn waived his right to a speedy probable-cause hearing to allow his attorney to obtain copies of police reports.

The preliminary hearing was rescheduled to Sept. 3.

Afterward, relatives of the Utica man said he is remorseful about the incident.

“He cries and cries and cries,” said Fontyn’s mother, Rosemary.

Gilbert Fontyn said his son phoned him shortly after the crash, sounded “fuzzy” and thought he was at 11 Mile Road near Van Dyke and asked him to come get his Chihuahua. In a second phone conversation moments later, his son then said he was at Chicago Deli, located less than one-half mile from the crash scene.

“I told him, ‘Hell with the dog, go back where the accident was,’” the father said.

Defense attorney James Galen Jr. pointed to the support Fontyn has from family members and asked District Judge Dean Ausilio to reduce the $300,000 bond.

That request was opposed by Macomb County Assistant Prosecutor Derek Miller, who said Fontyn has 10 driver’s license suspensions and six previous convictions for driving with a suspended license. He said the Utica man also has a prior felony conviction for possession of drugs, and arrests for misdemeanor assault.

Outside the courtroom, Galen told The Macomb Daily that Fontyn’s dog jumped into his client’s lap and that Fontyn turned to put the dog in the back seat and crossed over two lanes, into oncoming traffic.

“Shawn’s devastated. Every time I meet with him, he’s in tears. He’s going to have to carry this with him the rest of his life,” he added.

After his arrest, Fontyn was taken to St. John Macomb-Oakland Hospital in Warren, where a blood sample was taken to determine whether he was under the influence of alcohol or drugs. Results of the toxicology tests may not be known for several weeks.

Lynch was on the way home from work at the time of the tragic crash.

Fontyn, the driver of the Fusion and the elderly woman who ran over Lynch were not injured in the multi-vehicle wreck, police said.